We arrive in a host country, usually after a vast amount of personal trauma,
uprooting, & total disruption of our lives.   Many of us have been  *only*
psychologically abused &/or tortured; others have been physically &
psychologically abused &/or tortured.

In general, the present methods of reception & dealing with asylum-seekers by
the host-countries are Machiavellian, inhumane, sadistic & medieval.  For
asylum-seekers it’s a continuation of the terror we have recently escaped  -
whatever the degree of that terror  –  plus the new problems of adapting to a
new life-system which induces yet more insecurity & vulnerability, although of a
different nature, over an extended time period.  This causes increased levels of 
*Dissociative Disorder*     &   *Post Traumatic Stress Disorder*      (see
Annex).


Host countries & aid organizations – due to their treatment of & attitude to
asylum-seekers  -  frequently cause far more traumas than those originally
undergone by us within our own countries & during our escape.


We asylum-seekers need  –  very urgently,  sometimes desperately  -  (even if
temporarily)  a feeling of acceptance & safety. We also need to find a creative
outlet for our energies,  (ie)  work, in order to re-find our self-worth,  to
help us integrate into the society of the country of adoption, as well as to
contribute to our own /our family’s / & our adoptive country’s psychological &
economic well-being.  (Integration into a new society or country is always a
difficult matter, even for voluntary migrants /foreign workers /etc.)   By
denying asylum-seekers our inalienable right to try to find work, by forcing on
us a situation of   *non-status*  & other humiliating denials of our basic
human-rights, only adds to the damage already inherent in our situations.  It
appears that individuals have to comply with laws, but governments do not.
If any economic &/or other help is given, it’s given reluctantly & in a manner
which induces the feeling of rejection &  *charity*,  & often also the
insinuation that we are  *guilty*  because we are seeking asylum.

It is a much saner policy  –  politically, economically & in human-rights terms
–  to accept asylum-seekers by giving us, IMMEDIATELY, permission to search for
work, plus any other assistance   (such as providing psychological & physical
healthcare, help in finding adequate accommodation, language classes,
job-training, children’s education, etc),   to allow us to recover our health,
our self-worth, & our meaning in life, & to stop this deliberate policy of
marginalization,  demonization,  dehumanization &  criminalization of our
status.  It is unacceptable to be treated with such deliberate callousness, or
to be made into scapegoats for political, racial, religious, xenophobic or other
forms of abusive discrimination.

From a purely logical perspective  –  apart from the human-rights issues  –  it
is in the best interests of the host countries to allow us asylum-seekers to
work, pay our taxes, integrate into society (temporarily or permanently),  &
also so that we can continue  –  if possible  –  in our trade or profession, so
that we don’t lose touch with new learning experiences, /technology /other
progressions in our work-spheres, without which it later creates a situation
where it is always much more difficult to re-adapt /retrain & find work.  This
is a win-win situation for all parties.  Most refugees are capable of supporting
themselves & their families, & many of us could  –  at a later stage  -  employ
locals too.   However, we are rejected, harassed & not allowed to get on with
restructuring our disrupted lives.

Under the current system,   (& assuming that the host country does pay anything,
which many countries don’t)   the host-country wastes tax-payers money by paying
long-term social security benefits to people who neither want nor need 
*charity*.  We certainly do need short-term help until we become self-supporting
again, & we certainly have the motivation & incentive to work extremely hard.
This would also reduce the stress we are under during the administrative process
of   *normalizing*   our situation in the host country.

We as asylum-seekers have had the initiative & courage to escape from our
specific tragedies, & have endured a lot.  Why should we be denigrated & suffer
collective-punishment  under the deliberate & malicious classifications &
epithets assigned to us. We have the right to be treated as law-abiding
individuals on our own personal merits. We are not a burden on any state; in
fact, quite the reverse.   We are an asset, currently & for the future, & should
be welcomed.

A large proportion of asylum-seekers will later choose to return to their
homelands when it’s safe to do so.  They want to be with their families /friends
/neighbors /in their own culture & language group.   Others are  –  by
temperament  –  more internationalists, & adapt better to their adopted country
on a long-term or permanent basis.

All human beings,  by nature,  require healthy & creative outlets for
self-expression, otherwise the psychological effects are dangerous.   Loss of
the will-to-live, of autonomy, of direction, of self-esteem, thus inducing
apathy, more psychological problems   (apart from the ones we have due to being
asylum-seekers)   physical ill-health, drug /alcohol /other addictions, criminal
or other antisocial behavior, violence within the family group &/or externally,
depression, suicide.  The list goes on …. & on ….. & on………..


*Administrative Silence*

In many countries in Europe there is a phenomenon known legally as
*administrative silence* .... (ie) the administration simply ignores visits,
letters, phone calls, faxes, e-mails, & all other known forms of communication
by members of the public /lawyers /anyone else.   This practice is used
primarily against the citizens of the countries concerned, not only against
foreigners & asylum-seekers. Basically, there is no concept of the fact that
civil servants   (whatever their occupation or seniority)   are employed by &
are in the service of the public.  The public is NOT there to serve the
administration.   What these individuals &/or governments are showing is
outrageous arrogance & contempt for their citizens & others.   Everyone is
entitled to receive,  & if necessary to demand,   respect & courtesy from
government  (& other)  institutions & agencies, & from their employees at an
individual level.

Max Weber, the German sociologist of the 19th century describing the
characteristics of burocracy, stated that   *a clear separation of personal &
institutional interests gives a new meaning to the power of silence &
exclusion*.   Since then, this attitude has been refined & honed & abused by
governments /institutions /etc.  It’s used as a weapon against citizens &
foreigners alike.
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, the 19th-century French  writer, stated    *Government
is an unnecessary burden at best,  & more likely a tyrannical noose around its
subjects' necks.   To be governed is to be at every operation, at every
transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered,
assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected,
punished.*
For the terminology   *administrative silence*    read    *psychoterror tactics*

(ie) putting peoples lives on  *hold*,   to whatever degree & for whatever
length of time, whether due to inefficiency /negligence /a deliberate policy of
stalling /inattention to the matter /sheer bloody-mindedness, or for any other
*reason*.

I consider that this tactic falls under the heading of    *a major abuse of
fundamental human rights*.

For example, in several countries the law offers a so-called  *remedy*  in cases
of   *administrative silence*.  Apparently, if a request submitted to the
administration is not resolved within three months, then the applicant may
consider that their request has been rejected and such party may then bring the
matter before the administrative court. If one attempted this method, no doubt
the representative of the government would then merely try to justify the
non-resolution of one’s claim, while  -  by doing nothing  -  the applicant
still hopes that their request or cause will be accepted & resolved, 
eventually,  maybe,   by the administration.   This is no  *remedy*  at all  -
it’s a sick joke.

I consider that the concept & the application of   *administrative silence*  is
diametrically opposed to the concept of   *presumption of innocence*  &   *the
right to a fair & swift resolution of issues*.    My premise is that specific
legislation needs to be brought in to outlaw  *administrative silence*,   &.
that it's the administration's duty & obligation to resolve the issues,  to
reply to the public  -  with precise details  -  & that if they don't do so then
the applicant or subject of the issue WINS the case by default  after a period
of 2 to 6 months, different categories of administrative processes having
different timetables within that framework;   NOT that the administration has
the right to subject their employers   (the public)   to  *power-games*.  This
is the brutal & sadistic    *Catch 22*   principle of abuse of power & 
*assumption of guilt*   tactic, where the administration plays with the dice
always loaded in their own favor because of intra- as well as inter-office
politics,  fears of making a decision, plus the arrogance of power /etc.  Each
of these play their part in delaying  -  or denying  –  resolutions.

It's the administration  -  if they insist on fighting a  *default*  situation
of their own making  -  which should then bring their lost case or cause  to the
administrative court & explain why they didn't comply with the legal timetable
or pertinent laws.

I consider that it is a fundamental human right for everyone  –  not only
asylum-seekers  –  to be informed by the administration what is happening
regarding our specific situation.   We are entitled to know,  step by step,
what correspondence or other communication has been entered into by the
administration in respect of our  *case*  or  *cause*  or application,   we are
entitled to receive copies from the administrations of all communications in
respect of our lives,  & to be kept updated on a regular basis, in detail.

Governments  –  obviously  –  have the right of discrimination & selection as to
whom they receive in their countries, & non-citizens   (foreign workers,
visitors, asylum-seekers, etc.)   have the right to know how their applications
are faring,  & to a speedy resolution.   We also have the right to appeal to the
relevant courts of justice in the case of non-acceptance of our applications.

It’s overdue that all governments, justice departments, the UN, NGO’s & aid
organizations were educated to accept the fact that   *the right to life* 
takes precedence over all & any laws,  & the refusal or negation of this right
can arguably be classified as a crime against humanity.

In fact, any form of negation of   *the right to life*   is  -  implicitly &
explicitly  -  a death sentence.

In far too many countries, too many lawyers, judges, & others in the legal
professions are likely to be pressurized by their government to ignore human
rights laws in the name of political expediency.  The other part of this crime
is that too many of these people  -  as individuals, & also as part of a group &
a system supposedly  *dedicated*   to upholding, enforcing & strengthening the
rule of law  -  comply with politicians wishes, rather than being independent &
ensuring that human rights laws prevail, despite the politicians & despite
politics.  For those who fall into the above-mentioned category, this is abject
cowardice; an abdication of personal & collective responsibility within that
profession; contempt for the inherent meaning of the law & of the principles of
justice; contempt for the spirit of the law & of justice; & the grossest
contempt for & of life itself.

Since national &  international human rights are supposed to protect individuals
& groups against governmental abuses, governments cannot determine for
themselves if and when they apply.   It’s like asking the wolves to protect the
goats!
“One cannot speak about the protection of human rights with credibility when one
is confronted with the lack of consistency and courage displayed by the
international community and its leaders.”

*****************************************************************************

Governments, institutions & other authoritarian bodies do not act cynically.
They act with inhumane, calculated, cold-blooded, ruthless, amoral, deliberate
forethought.

*******************************************************************************

Vast numbers of the present members of many governments & humanitarian agencies
-  plus other citizens of their countries   (including the Italian-born King of
Spain)  -  were given assistance & asylum by other countries at various times in
very recent history.  These selfsame individuals  –  many of whom are now in
power in their own countries or within aid organizations  -   treat current-day
refugees in their countries despicably & brutally.  Why?

When governments – especially those in the wealthier countries of the world -
claim that their processes take so long   (be they court-cases or other
administrative matters)   because  *the system is overloaded*,   &/or   *we are
understaffed* ,  &/or any other  *reasons*  –  let’s be very clear that this is
not a   *lack of political will*  or any vague excuse  –   it’s a very specific
& deliberate action by that government to withhold funding & other resources
from those projects.   This is not avoiding  –  but evading  & obfuscating   -
the real questions & issues.  The reality is that it’s control & manipulation by
the state in favor of the incumbents in power, certainly not in favor of or in
behalf of the citizens who elected them & pay their salaries, & to whom they are
accountable.

********************************************************************

Forced expulsion & forced repatriation,      under any circumstances  -  &
especially where the lives of asylum-seekers would once again be at risk, is
totally unacceptable.
Gas-chambers are no longer fashionable,  nor are they commercially viable.   
Why don’t host-countries just reintroduce the guillotine?      This has multiple
benefits:-
It would save taxpayers having to foot the bill for transportation & other
expulsion costs.
It could be the base for a new entertainment industry which is beneficial to the
local economy.
It’s wholesome family entertainment, with reduced entrance fees for children,  &
which at the same time educates the entire population as to how we
asylum-seekers should be viewed & treated.It would also be a rare & wonderful
display of honesty to show the world openly what the local political & social
agenda really is,  so that the citizens & the outside world can never again
claim   *we didn’t know what was happening*.
The end result for us asylum-seeker is the same  -  torture &/or death.. 
Guillotining us would save us from these agonies, uncertainties, terrors &
stress,  so this system for eliminating us could thus be marketed by each
host-country’s government, media & civil population as a   *humane act*,    so
keeping their individual & collective consciences clear.

********************************************************************

The reality of the current situation is obvious,  but I don't subscribe to it! 
Isn't it time in  *civilized*   &  *enlightened*   Europe, USA, Australia &
elsewhere, to change these laws & this inhumane & barbaric reality?
I feel obliged to record the problems encountered in the hope that these matters
may be rectified for the benefit of current & future asylum-seekers.  We are
looking for constructive solutions to our problems, & we need some assistance,
not homilies.   We don’t expect   *perfection*   in administrative systems, in
laws or in individuals,  but we certainly require & demand a betterment of
quality in all matters discussed herein, from all the parties concerned.

All civil servants, at all levels, need to be educated to the fact that their
citizens generally  -  & in this particular instance specifically,
asylum-seekers  -  are not fighting AGAINST anything or anyone;  we’re
struggling   -  peacefully  -  FOR our human rights.

That concept needs to be understood at a very profound level so that the
civilian, burocratic & political mind-set can change.

I think it is quite clear that this is not a document of criticism, per se;  it
is an attempt to bring the state of affairs to the attention of those who have
the power  -  & especially to those who have,   primarily,   the integrity,
humanity & goodwill   -  to improve the situation.  .
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The World's Most Unnecessary??  Protest  -CANBERRA, Australia –
A 48-year-old Pakistani man was granted permanent residence in Australia several
years ago and has been trying to secure visas for his family ever since. Not
realizing that his case had been approved, the man lit himself on fire in
protest at the entrance to the parliament building in Canberra. A witness said,
"He was rolling around on the ground...but he stopped moving by the time anybody
went out there with a fire extinguisher." The man was reportedly upset that his
family had yet to receive visas, but according to local papers, the protest was
unnecessary because the visas had already been okayed. The man remains in
critical condition in a burns unit at Sydney's Concord Hospital.
This is an example of what happens when governments use   *administrative
silence*   tactics

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

From Eur-op news – issue 2/2000          Having Health in Mind

Mental diseases are often linked to unemployment, social exclusion, homelessness
or drug & alcohol abuse. Effective methods to prevent mental problems need to
become a more pressing issue within EU policies.  The Council has asked the
Member States to collect relevant data, to implement action promoting mental
health & to stimulate research.  The Commission should incorporate activities on
mental health in the future action program for public health & implement an EU
health monitoring system.   OJC 86,2000

        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In Europe & America they came for the Communists                 & I didn't
speak up because I wasn't a Communist.                             Then
they came for the Roma,
& I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Roma.
Then they came for the Jews,
& I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.                               
Then they came for the Negros,
& I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Negro.            Then they came
for the Asians                        & I didn't speak up because I
wasn't an Asian.                      Then they came for the Arabs & the
Muslims,
& I didn't speak up because I wasn't an Arab or a Muslim.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
& I didn't speak up because I wasn't in a union.                  Then
they came for the Catholics,
& I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant
Then they came for the asylum-seekers,                  & I didn’t speak
up because I wasn’t an asylum-seeker.

Then they came for me,
& by that time
no one was left to speak up.
(with thanks to Pastor Martin Niemoller for the original version)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
HUMAN RIGHTS?

Most European & other countries are signatories to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, as well as to various other international treaties on Human
Rights, but asylum-seekers   (& other groups of people)   are  –  in practice  –
deliberately deprived of these rights. Those of us applying for protection as
refugees, stateless-persons, or for other types of asylum, are allowed to be in
the host country, but are forbidden to work to maintain ourselves whilst the
burocratic machinations drag on. Not only are we not allowed to work; in many of
these countries we ourselves have to pay all costs of telephone calls,
photographs, stamps,  & all other expenses of paperwork, including translations
into the official language of the country concerned,  & to cope with
never-ending burocracy.    We need to work, but host states classify this as 
*illegal*.   How are refugees supposed to exist when neither work-permits nor
financial assistance are given from any quarter?  Heavenly manna appears to be
off the menu at present!    It would appear that we have only the right to die
of starvation under the benevolent auspices of all the governmental & human
rights organizations, which were allegedly set up to assist asylum-seekers &
others.  Or perhaps special written permission to die is required!?   (Waiting
for which permission  under the  *administrative silence*  game would involve an
agonizingly slow & brutal death.  Or perhaps  -  in the name of political
expediency  -  this written permission to die of starvation would be
expedited?!)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
This Declaration is just that, a declaration. It was envisaged that national &
international laws would be subject to this Declaration, & that the signing of
the Declaration by governments would therefore be nationally & internationally
legally binding.
However,  because this is merely a Declaration,  & because there is no goodwill
by governments &  *justice*??  systems to enforce this either nationally or
internationally,  it’s absolutely worthless, apart from being a decoration with
colored ribbons & bows & pretty glittering stars to be hung on the walls of
signatory states to impress the gullible with fine lying words.   It’s merely a
camouflage  - of pretending to adhere to human rights  -  & thus a travesty of
truth, of justice,  of the Declaration, & of everything else that the UN & its
component states are supposed to stand for.

The signatories to the UDHR are the self-same governments which have the
temerity, audacity & arrogance to squawk about the lack of human rights in other
countries!!!

For further information on the UDHR & freedom issues see          
www.worldservice.org
They also issue passports & other documentation to asylum-seekers.

It is governments,  therefore,  which bear the responsibility for forcing
asylum-seekers  -   & others    -  to act in a so-called   *illegal*   manner in
order to sustain life.  We have the right to eat, to shelter,  & to the basic
necessities of life  -  whatever the legal systems have to say about the matter.
Are written legal words more important than human life?    Isn’t the basis of
democracy   *the rule of the people by the people for the people*?    Elections
are for the  *appointment of guardians*   –  citizens don’t vote individuals &
political parties into power to be abused by them;  governments should be acting
as guardian-administrators  –  not institutionalized & legalized terrorists.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

International Bills of Rights
      Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to
against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just
government would refuse, or rest on inference.
                 —Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 20 December 1787
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The New Unhappy Lords
They have given us into the hand of new unhappy lords,
Lords without anger & honour, who dare not carry their swords.
They fight by shuffling papers;  they have bright dead alien eyes;
They look at our labour & laughter as a tired man looks at flies.
And the load of their loveless pity is worse than the ancient wrongs,
Their doors are shut in the evening; & they know no songs.
GK Chesterton - "The Secret People"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Robert Kennedy, South Africa 1966, in the most repressive days of apartheid, at
the University of Cape Town ……„It may seem futile to challenge the
world's misery & ignorance, injustice & violence, but it is from numberless
diverse acts of courage & belief that human history is shaped.   Each time a
person stands up for an ideal, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth
a tiny ripple of hope;  & crossing each other from a million different centers
of energy & daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the
mightiest walls of oppression."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Too many vulnerable communities in too many regions of the world now hesitate
to look to the United Nations to assist them in their hour of need.   No amount
of resolutions or statements can change this reality.  Only action can”
Kofi Annan at the Millennium Summit in NY   2000

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Working at the edge of the development of human society is to work at the brink
of the unknown. Much of what is done will one day prove to have been of little
avail. That is no excuse for the failure to act on accordance with our best
understanding, in recognition of its limits, but with faith in the ultimate
result of the creative evolution in which it is our privilege to cooperate."
Dag HammarskjoldSecretary-General of the United Nations, 1953-1961
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

UNHCR

The UNHCR in Geneva has a department specifically   *dedicated* ??   to the
affairs of stateless-persons.   However, no UN offices, refugee organizations,
human-rights groups & other agencies which I’ve contacted in Europe & elsewhere
had any knowledge of this department.   I informed these organizations about
this   *secret*   section of UNHCR,  & suggested that they  pass this
information on to other organizations.  I also suggested to UNHCR that their
publicity department should inform the world of the department’s existence &
function.  When I asked UNHCR for information about when said department was
formed  -  plus various other questions  -  they refused to clarify.   I also
wrote twice to Mr. Ruud Lubbers by certified mail regarding this matter, but his
office hasn’t deigned to reply.     Meanwhile, the worldwide UNHCR offices &
other organizations, because they have apparently not been informed by UNHCR
head office

(A)  that the department exists
(B)   of the specific rights & the protection programs legally available to
stateless-persons

cannot carry-out their functions or give assistance or protection in certain
situations to stateless-persons, who are therefore deprived of possibly
life-saving help.   About a year ago I was informed verbally by officials at one
office of UNHCR  (outside Europe)  that their legal mandate did not cover the
protection of stateless-persons, only refugees.  This is not only a lack of
information,  it appears to be deliberate;  a withholding of information,
disinformation & misinformation,  by UNHCR Geneva.

There are also far too many personnel who abuse their positions within the UN. 
For example, when I initially wrote to UNHCR Geneva asking for protection, it
took them over 2 years to reply. The UNHCR branch office in the country where I
was then staying refused assistance,  & deliberately misled me on many issues. 
This is the type of contempt with which too many UNHCR employees treat
asylum-seekers.  Very many other asylum-seekers  –  many of whom I have assisted
with psychotherapy  -  have recounted similar abuse by UNHCR personnel.   At
another time  –  in another country  –   UNHCR personnel assisted me generously
on a person-to-person level,  & complained that they could not legally do more. 
This help was given willingly, despite the fact that  -  insofar as they were
(mis)informed by regional headquarters  &/or by Geneva  -  UNHCR could not,
within their mandate as an organization, assist stateless-persons

The UNHCR, having just celebrated its 50th anniversary, has still not managed to
celebrate a workable international agreement on the treatment of refugees &
stateless-persons in terms of these peoples’ internment in refugee camps for
long periods of time.   Why is it that after over 50 years, several generations
of Palestinians are still living in refugee camps?   The same question applies
to other groups of refugees in Asia & other areas of the world, although their
incarceration has  *only* lasted for about 25 years.

Why  –  except as a short-term transit point  –  are refugees kept in camps or
other confined quarters,  or,  as in many countries   (also in Europe), 
jailed?   Why are governments, NGO’s & other aid agencies actively creating,
accepting, participating in & supporting this form of ghetto-building,
*detention-camp*   style apartheid,  & deprivation of human rights?

This abuse of asylum-seekers by host countries could possibly be prosecuted
under the   United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.

How is it tenable that refugees  –  whether in refugee camps or not  –  are
forbidden to work?   This is an outrageous human indignity, & causes further
problems as mentioned previously.  This appears to be a deliberate political
strategy adopted almost universally by individual countries.  Why?   Here are
individuals who are already traumatized   (it’s only the degree that differs) 
by whatever happened in their countries of origin;  many of them have lost
family and friends, most of them have lost all their material possessions; all
of them have lost   (temporarily or permanently)   their equilibrium, their
orientation, their perspective, their future prospects, their community
cohesion, their self-worth, their …………    We are then subjected to further
cruelty by the host country, both burocratically & on a more personal level,
depending on their host country’s attitude & the political & media manipulation
towards foreigners,  & especially their attitude towards asylum-seekers.  Here
are people, some of whom have never ventured beyond their villages in their home
countries, some who have never been beyond the frontiers of their home
countries, most of whom have no knowledge of other languages or cultures, being
subjected to more uncertainty and trauma.   Why has the UNHCR & the world
community not resolved this repressive attitude?    In countries where refugees
are in camps, why are they not allowed to work even within this restricted zone?

Why do the UN & its member states  -  under whatever legal terminology  -  not
recognize as refugees or provide adequate protection & assistance to those
people who flee  *non-state persecutions*,   nor to those who are classified as 
*displaced persons*?

The UNHCR   (& the UN in general)   –  in my experience & opinion  -  is
incompetent & toothless in too many areas of its operations, primarily because
the individual governments which control & manipulate the UN deliberately use
this body as a scapegoat for denying & escaping their own government’s
responsibilities.   This is not to negate the wonderful work that is actually
accomplished by the UN, despite & in spite of political interference & abuse by
contributing governments, as well as the UN’s own internal politics. It’s the
personnel  –  vast numbers of whom work with goodwill & integrity  –  who
actually get things done, despite the constrictions & constraints.

Why does the UNHCR   (as well as each of the UN divisions separately)   spend
billions of dollars annually on self-publicity via movies, full-color magazines
& so on?  The monies contributed by tax-payers of each country to finance the UN
are not donated to be wasted on UN ego-enhancing propaganda campaigns;  they’re
supposed to be spent for humanitarian purposes.  Why is the UN permitted to
spend approximately 80% of its total budget on administration, self-publicity &
jet-setting?    How much of the remaining 20% of this vast budget actually gets
through to the  *ground level*,  to the people who desperately need the help? 
These people need food, medication, education, hope, etc.,  not color magazines
& movies to show them how great the UN is  -  & most of these people will anyway
never see copies of the magazines or movies!.   How many people world-wide
suffer &/ or die needlessly because the UN’s priorities are false, and their
allocated funds and other resources are abused?
(I recommend the book    “Lords of Poverty”   by Graham Hancock
regarding the above & other issues, a copy of which I was given by a UN
official.)

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"Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation
(OR THE GROUP)*    that is attacked,  (OR MARGINALIZED OR UNWANTED)*   & every
man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, & will diligently study
them, & refuse to examine any refutations of them;  & thus he will by & by
convince himself that the war    (OR THE DELAYING OR REFUSAL OF HUMANITARIAN
AID,  ASYLUM OR ANY OTHER ASSISTANCE TO ANYONE, ANYWHERE,  & WHENEVER THAT HELP
IS NEEDED)*    is just,  & will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after
this process of grotesque self-deception." Mark Twain, The Mysterious
Stranger, 1916, Ch. 9
* (ITEMS IN CAPITALS & BRACKETED are additions by the author of THIS overview)
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The amounts of aid given for assisting refugees /displaced-persons
/asylum-seekers is miniscule in comparison with the profits made by the donor
countries from their international arms sales, which is part of the cause of the
problem in the first place.

Being seen to be donating is good for political propaganda, & for the
whitewashing of the realities for the gullible public at home & abroad.

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In Boswell's "Johnson" the story is told of a woman who was seen frying live
eels in hot grease in a large pan, on a street in 18th century London. When the
eels struggled up the side of the pan, trying to get out, the woman would strike
them with a stick, scolding them angrily:  "Down, wantons! Down!"The eels, it
seemed, just didn't understand their place in the higher scheme of things.

There's a lot of that in the way asylum-seekers   (as well as local citizens)
are treated.


Welcome  - now die       24 July 2001     – AFP

NIGERIA’S national Tae Kwan Do coach Yusuf Yahaya took ill on a South African
Airways flight and died after he was refused hospitalisation in Johannesburg
because he lacked an entry visa for South Africa.
After several hours of uncertainty, he was carried back aboard the aircraft
where he had a heart attack and died.
An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Yahaya had failed to
declare his health status before boarding the plane and that, as a result, "the
normal immigration laws have to apply."

(& he wasn’t even an asylum-seeker!)



On a personal level …..when someone crawls onto the steps of your home, bleeding
& in need of assistance & nourishment, do you kick & otherwise abuse &
interrogate this damaged person,  then make them wait & suffer further whilst
you  -  the householder  -  ponder as to whether you’ll bother giving any help
at all, or simply leave the person there to die?

That is the treatment meted out to asylum-seekers by most governments.

We are human beings,  not disembodied statistics.




But of course  -  in the political, financial & religious arenas of intrigue &
decimation  -  individuals, groups & nations are irrelevant;   we’re merely 
*COLLATERAL DAMAGE*.


SNAFU is the real tragedy.


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The current drama re the Afghan refugees is no different to the way most
governments operate.   It’s posturing & manipulation for personal political gain
&   *prestige*??,   using innocent children, women & men as hostages  -  in this
specific case by the Australian government,  but is a tactic used by most
governments.
These are basically the same   *reasons*  -  admitted long after the events in
question   (of course),   the issues having been fully or partially known by
most governments  -  for deliberately supporting &/or ignoring the realities of
concentration camps, slaughters & genocides in Belgian Congo, South West Africa,
Nazi Germany, Cambodia, Palestine, Indonesia, Rwanda, & many, many other
countries.    It’s political expediency.              The national &
international legal & judicial apparati also  (mostly)  remain silent on human
rights abuses.
Are politicians & government administrators humane beings?
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It’s  possible that this article will be excluded from discussion in many
circles, for it questions the validity of convenient  *facts*  that are most
serviceable to the interests of established power;  (ie)   that we
asylum-seekers are worthless criminals, etc., & that we have a negative
influence on the community & state.
However well-confirmed the facts to the contrary may be, those facts are
frequently regarded as inadmissible,  & should  (according to those in power)
remain outside the spectrums of thought  &  debate.
This article  -  if invalid  -  may be dismissed.    If it is valid, it probably
will be dismissed …..   by certain parties.
As in the 18th-century doctrine on seditious libel,   truth is no defence;
rather, truth heightens the enormity of the  *crime*  of  questioning   &/or
exposing  -  specific or general  -  realities of any ruthlessness, amorality
&/or  other abuses of authority  (individual, collective  &/or  institutional)
as practiced at any moment in time.
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